Jan U.H. Eitel, Research Assistant ProfessorJan U.H. Eitel is an Research Assistant Professor at the University of Idaho’s McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS) and the AmericaView State Coordinator for Idaho. Jan has a strong interest and background in ecology, stemming from his pre-graduate degree in Forest Ecology and Management from the University of Freiburg (Germany), his PhD in Natural Resources from the University of Idaho, and his real-world experiences and research in a wide variety of ecosystems world-wide. Classes Jan currently teaches at MOSS include CSS 560 (Place-based Ecology for Environmental Educators) and CSS 566 (Advanced Field Ecology Course Design). Jan is very interested in developing and assessing hands-on, field-based curricula that engage learners in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). For these curricula, Jan is particularly interested in making use of low-cost, high-tech tools (e.g., flying cameras, time-lapse cameras) some of which he actively develops and tests in collaboration with MOSS graduate students (e.g., low cost terrestrial LiDAR, flatbed scanner for foliar chlorophyll analysis). A longer term goal of Jan’s work at MOSS is to help promote and create a field research station that provides unique ecological and socio-economic research opportunities to a broad research audience. His primary research interest is in developing and using novel remote sensing tools and techniques to advance our understanding of processes that control the environment we live in. Jan has extensive experience working with both optical remote sensing and LiDAR data and has led the development of an autonomously operating terrestrial laser scanner (ATLS). He has authored 24 peer-reviewed journal articles of which he led 14 as the main author. He has also extensive experience delivering introductory workshops to the statistical computing and graphics program R. In his free-time, Jan enjoys spending time with his two kids and wife. Also, being a former NCAA Division 1 regional champion in the steeple-chase, he still enjoys endurance sports such as trail running, mountain biking, backcountry skiing, and Nordic skiing.» View Jan's profile